Everything Has Changed
by BrittSmiles4BTR
Summary: Pain is real and it hurts. People who don't understand it try to categorize it by how much blood people bleed. From the little, tiny paper cut that bleeds for a second to the big gaping hole that seems to bleed forever. But people tend to over look one tiny detail. A broken heart doesn't bleed but it still hurts... Rated K Just to be safe!


**A/N- Hey guys! BrittSmiles4BTR here! I am ecstatic to share my newest story with you all! I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in a while; it's just that it took me quite some time to write this! However, before I get into that, I just wanted to say something first.**

 **Shout out to BigTimeRush-BTR for requesting I write this! You guys should check out her stories because she is _AMAZING_! Anyway, this is dedicated to BigTimeRush-BTR! Thank you for everything you've done for me! You are truly an amazing person, author, and most of all you're an amazing friend! Please, don't ever change the way you are! :)**

 **Anyway, onward and upward! I hope you all enjoy this! Without further adieu, I present:**

 _Everything Has Changed…_

Kendall wasn't doing the assignment.

That was all Logan could tell from his spot in front of Kendall's desk. That day, they'd arrived and Logan was pleasantly surprised to find Kendall was already there, being as when they'd woken up back at the apartment, Kendall was gone.

He quickly plopped down beside him. "Hey, Kindle!" he greeted. They were supposed to be working on the essay about their greatest achievement and Kendall looked like he was in the middle of reading his over. It didn't even look like Kendall knew Logan was sitting there. It didn't make much of a difference anyhow because after a quick glance in Logan's direction, his head snapped back down to his paper. Logan sighed. "Hey, is that your greatest achievement essay?" Logan was a bit taken back by the menacing glare Kendall shot him. "Right. Stupid question. Sorry I asked." Logan muttered, throwing his hands in a protective position. He'd never seen Kendall look so angry before in his life. It was a bit terrifying, to say the least, but he quickly sighed in relief as Kendall seemed to relax a bit and he again returned to reading over his work.

Carlos turned over in his desk. "Hey, what did you guys end up writing about for the paper?" He asked from his spot next to Logan.

Though the question was directed at both of them, Kendall ignored him. Carlos looked to Logan expectantly. "Well, I wrote about how I was the only pop-star on the charts who's also a future doctor in America."

Carlos playfully rolled his eyes. "You _would_ write about that!"

Logan glared at him. "Well, what did _you_ write about?"

He seemed conflicted and a little sheepish. "I wrote about taking on a bully..." He paused, rubbing his neck.

"You wrote about taking on those bullies, didn't you?"

James chimed in with a scoff. "It was more like _the entire eighth grade!_ " he exclaimed while sitting up in his chair next to Kendall. "In _middle_ school!"

Carlos shrugged nonchalantly, though his face reddened in embarrassment. "Can we please not talk about this right now?"

"Don't be so modest, buddy." James boasted.

"Whatever, let's just _not_ talk about it!"

Logan smiled. "Sure, pal. What about you, James?"

"James probably wrote about being in Big Time Rush!" Carlos giggled.

"No!" James snapped, but after Logan gave him knowing looks from his two smaller friends, he slumped in his chair with a childish pout. "I hate all of you!"

"What about you, Kendall?" Logan asked, temporarily forgetting about Kendal's new silent behavior.

When Kendall didn't answer, Logan let out a breath. He wasn't all too surprised by his lack of response. He was getting rather used to it by now, being as for the past couple of weeks Kendall had been refused to utter as much as two words to anyone.

Logan slowly turned in his seat, careful not to accidentally gain the attention of the older, blond haired boy. Fortunately for him, Kendall seemed to be lost in his own world, jotting down every last idea until it was perfect.

Suddenly, Kendall shoved his paper up on his desk, and Logan could only guess that he didn't have room at the bottom of the table to write. And Logan took this as a perfect opportunity to peer over and read what he had written.

Logan could easily see that Kendall had printed the date at the top of the page. On the first line of the paper, he had written a capital 'D' followed by a small array of squiggly lines, and then another capital 'D' and another assortment of scribbles.

Logan cursed Kendall's microscopic handwriting; he would always so small that nobody could read it. _But, I suppose, I have myself to blame for that._ He thought almost shamefully as he reached back and began to rearrange the eraser shavings around his desk and paper with his finger. After all, it had been _him_ who had advised him to write smaller: "that way the cheater wouldn't be able to see what he was writing!" He'd said. It was an ingeniously clever idea for Logan being as the smaller nerdier boy lacked the proper amount of mischief. Now more than anything, he'd wished that he'd come up with a different plan as opposed to instructing Kendall to write so diminutively.

Logan leaned over the back of his chair so he could get a decent look at Kendall's paper, but the task was deemed difficult when the taller boy shifted in his spot and hunched over his desk. This, in turn, blocked any view Logan had of Kendall's work.

Logan let out a huff as he slipped back into his chair. As much as he would have loved to know what was bothering his older friend, life was clearly getting in the way. Plus, class was starting. He needed a way to get Kendall to talk to him. So, as quietly as he could, he pulled out a blank sheet of loose leaf out of his folder, scribbled down a quick, " _what's wrong?_ " on the top and slid it onto Kendall's desk.

Kendall blew out a puff of air, but after a moment the paper was passed back with a reply. " _Nothing. I'm fine._ "

Logan gave the back of Kendall's head a look and rolled his eyes. " _Yeah, right. You know you can tell me anything, right? Besides, I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong._ "

" _I do not want, nor do I need, your help. Nothing is wrong. I am fine. So just drop it and leave it alone._ "

" _That's a lie and you know it! Now something is obviously wrong. You've been acting weird for weeks and you haven't spoken to any of us for quite some time now!_ "

" _I said drop it!_ "

Logan let out a frustrated growl as he read and reread the words he'd written. Logan couldn't understand why Kendall was refusing to open up to him. He would normally tell him anything no matter what; he was like an open book! So why was he suddenly being so adamant and stubborn? " _Why? Why won't you let me help you? Why won't you let me in? I'm your best friend, Kendall! Doesn't that mean anything to you?_ "

" _Enough, Logan._ "

" _No! Why won't you let me help you?"_

Kendall didn't answer again after that, but Logan bent on, tearing off a piece from a sheet of scrap paper. " _I'm not letting this go, Kendall!_ " Logan glared at him when he didn't answer. " _Just tell me!_ " Again nothing.

Logan was in the midst of writing another not to pass to Kendall when the sound of Ms. Collins clearing her throat made him stop. "Kendall! Logan!" she called. Logan looked up, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kendall doing the same. "Is there something the two of you would like to share with the rest of the class?"

Logan looked to Kendall for help, but his eyes never met his. He just stared at his hands on his desk as he twiddled his thumbs. Logan gritted his teeth, angered and annoyed with him. "No, ma'am." He muttered through a clenched jaw. He was practically shaking with rage and had steam coming out of his ears. "We're fine."

With that, Ms. Collins continued her reading and the class went back to listening to her. Kendall placed his head in his arms on top of his desk, refusing to give anyone the time of day. Logan quickly crumpled the piece he'd started to write on; I knew it wouldn't be worth it to give it to Kendall because he didn't feel like talking.

He sighed in defeat as he willed himself to calm down. Carlos was already swooping in, kneeling down beside Kendall's desk so he could whisper consoling words into his ears. And, to his surprise, Kendall whispered things back. Logan seethed with jealousy. _Why was he talking to Carlos and not me?_ He quickly took a deep breath to calm himself. _I'll talk to Kendall later._ Logan thought. _He'll talk to me when he's ready._

School went by faster than what any of them could have imagined. Kendall collected all of his belonging and left without as much as a word to his other friends. "Kendall, wait! Kendall!" Logan cried, but it was too late; Kendall was already gone.

"Logan, stop. Just give him some space." Carlos advised, patting his logical friend's shoulder. Logan pursed his lips, but nodded reluctantly. Again, none of the boys were really surprised.

"I wonder what's making that kid so mad." James wondered as they walked to the elevators.

While Logan nodded in thoughtful agreement, Carlos' breathing hitched way in his throat. "Yeah, I wonder." He squeaked, his voice breaking with nerves.

Logan arched an eyebrow. "So you have _no_ idea what's bugging Kendall?" Logan asked in a voice that sounded like he was talking to a small child who was clearly lying about sneaking a cookie before dinner.

"No." There were always telltale signs that Carlos was lying. The first was that he would talk really slowly as if he were reading lines off a script. The second was that he would bite his lower lip. And the third was that he would avoid eye contact with the person he was lying to. Carlos wasn't stupid; he knew that these were the things that he always did whenever he was put in a situation where he had to lie. He also knew that he had to avoid doing these in order to get away with it.

"Are you sure?" James inquired slowly.

"I don't know, and I wouldn't tell you even if I did!" It was quite a convincing statement, and they probably would have believed him if he had left it at that. But because it was Carlos, the boy felt compelled to add, "And I'm not _lying_ or anything!"

Logan and James stared at each other for a brief second before they came to block Carlos before he could slip into the elevator. "You know why he was upset, don't you?" James asked as he and Logan crossed their arms.

" _Well_..."

"Carlos!" They exclaimed, each smacking the young Latino's arms in unison.

"Dude, you have to tell us; best friends don't keep secrets! Remember?" James said.

Carlos wiggled passed them so he could press the button outside the elevator. "I know, I know! And I'm sorry, but I can't tell you! It's not _my_ story to tell and I don't even know the _whole_ story! But I can tell you that Kendall has a _really_ good reason to be angry and sad and hurt." Carlos said, pausing when the elevator doors pushed open and he took the opportunity to step inside.

Logan and James let out breaths of their own. "And that would be?" They asked in unison as they stepped inside as well.

Carlos chuckled. "Nice try."

The first forty six seconds it took to ride the elevator to their room had gone swimmingly. Nobody said a single word on the subject and they even passed friendly smiles to one another. But the moment the elevator doors opened with a happy ding was the moment all broke loose.

The remainder of the walk to their apartment was spent shouting at once another as the remaining third of the group burst through the door. Carlos had jammed his fingers into his ears while Logan and James were screaming for him to listen.

"Carlos? Carlos!" James screamed as they followed him around the kitchen and to the dining room.

"If you're going to ask me about Kendall then _I can't hear you!_ " Carlos snapped back in a sing song tone.

"Carlos, you better tell us the secret or I'm going to hide your helmet again!" Logan yelled as they came to stand in front of the table. "Did you hear _that_?!"

"La la la la la la _la_!" Carlos screwed his eyes shut as he continued to chant.

They tried screaming over Carlos' incoherent shouts, but he refused to listen. They didn't notice that Mama Knight had returned; she and Katie placed their luggage on the floor.

"Hey guys!" Mama Knight greeted happily. She was ignored as the boys continued to argue. She tried again. "We're back!" They continued on.

"HEY!" Katie finally shouted.

Logan and James looked up simultaneously, both noticing that Carlos was still belting at the top of his lungs. James and Logan each took hold of Carlos' wrists, proceeding to yank the boy's fingers from his ears.

"Hey!" Carlos' protested, but James and Logan both pointed to Mama Knight, who was waiting patiently for their bickering to end.

"If you're done screaming at each other, a little love might be nice!" The boys looked sheepishly at one another before piling into a group hug.

"How was Minnesota?" Logan asked.

Katie sighed. "I don't want to talk about it." She said, suddenly she didn't feel much like hugging. She pushed out of the hug so she could beeline down the hall before anyone could stop her. Carlos could have sworn that he saw Katie brushing off a tear as the child made a hasty retreat to her room.

Every eye was on her and they held their breath until they heard her bedroom door shut. "What's her problem?" James asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

"Go easy on her; she's had a rough week." Mrs. Knight explained, and only Carlos nodded in understanding. "Where's Kendall?"

A crash was heard from down the hall way. "My money's on in our room." Logan said.

"Boy, first Kendall with his 'mad at the world' attitude, and then Katie Knight _cries_?" James demanded, throwing his hands in the air.

" _I'm not crying!_ " As if on cue, the boys looked back when they heard Katie shouting from her room.

"Still, what is going on?" Logan inquired; he could feel Carlos tense beside him.

"It's going to be a rough couple of days for the two of them; especially for Kendall."

"Why is that, Mama Knight?" Logan asked.

"I'm sorry, Honey, but it's not my place to tell. Kendall has to tell you on his own." Mrs. Knight could sense of awkwardness radiating off the youngest boy as his eyes came to meet hers. "Carlos, honey. Why don't you go and tell Kendall that we're home?"

Carlos beamed and he quickly dashed off, but not before slapping his helmet onto his head and tapping it twice.

The first instinct Carlos had was to try to door but, with the way Kendall had been behaving, he already knew that the door was bound to be locked. Carlos tried the door anyway, only succeeding in confirming his hypothesis.

"Kendall?" He called, but he didn't answer. "Kendall!" He tried again, knocking a few times on the door.

He could hear a groan emanate from the other side and Carlos pressed his ear against the door. " _Go away, Carlos!_ " He roared.

Carlos sighed, fished his hand through his pocket, and shuffled through the change he had from lunch until his fingers clasped the one he needed: a nice, round penny. Carefully, he placed the coin into the crease of the lock, turning it slowly until the handle gave out a small click. He could have hopped up and down with excitement, but he quickly remembered that he was on a mission.

He gently forced the door open, cautious not to start Kendall from his absent state of mind. He shuffled into the room, he watched Kendall as he stared at a piece of paper in his hands. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions of anything, but it looked an awful lot like the paper he was writing during class.

Carlos didn't say a word, continuing to inch his way into the "forbidden territory". Carlos walked on the tippy tops of his toes, feeling almost sacrilegious. Kendall finally looked up as Carlos came to sit beside him on his bed. "Carlos? How did you get in here?"

Carlos shrugged. "I used my penny." He answered simply. Kendall rolled his eyes, gently standing from his bed and moving towards his desk. "Your mom's here and so is your sister. Don't you want to see them?"

"No. Maybe later." Kendall said flatly.

"But Kendall, they've been gone for days. Don't you want to-?"

"Carlos, can you please just get out of my room?" Kendall asked softly; he made sure to keep his back to his youngest friend, he didn't want to see his hurt expression.

"But why?"

"Because I don't want to be around people right now." Kendall answered as calmly as he could. His patience was wearing thin with his friend and he had nothing that he could take it out on.

"No." Carlos said firmly. "Kendall, I get that you're hurting and all but please don't shut me out, especially now that you need me most of all."

"You are so far off my plans its ridiculous!" Kendall snapped.

"It's like my dad always says-?"

"Nobody cares about your stupid dad right now!"

"What is your problem?"

Kendall turned around to glare at him. "Did you ever think that maybe I _don't_ need you. Maybe what I need is a bit of peace and quiet. Not some loud mouth hockey head who sticks his nose into everyone's business and who blabbers on about things that no one cares about!" Kendall seethed as he came to tower over Carlos.

Carlos glared right back at him. "Is that the best you've got?"

"No. But this is."

Carlos had barely caught a glimpse of the wicked look in Kendall's eyes before his helmet was swiped off his head and held way up where he couldn't reach. "Hey! Kendall, stop!" Carlos cried, jumping up and down to reach his beloved headgear. "Give me my helmet!" Kendall had outstretched his arm, pushing against Carlos' head out at arm's length as Carlos' arms flailed about. Suddenly, Kendall gave one finally push and suddenly Carlos was sliding against the floor.

"Dude! What the heck?" Logan exclaimed, coming to stand practically out of nowhere at the door. Carlos looked helplessly between them and Kendall. Every fiber in his being wanted to tell them that it was all just a misunderstanding and what they'd seen was only part of what had happened.

He and James helped Carlos up and Carlos' eyes filled with tears. Kendall instantly began to regret what he had done. "I-I..." He took a step towards Carlos, but the boy backed away. "Carlos..."

"Why did you even tell me if you're not going to let me help you?" Carlos wrenched himself free and bolted out of the room.

"'Litos! I'm sorry!" Logan and James stepped out of the way as Kendall quickly followed him. "Wait!"

By the time he made it out of his room, he could barely see a flash a purple dash out of sight on the end of the hallway. Kendall darted back to the living room- he silently thanked God that his mother and sister were not there to see this.

He looked around the room, trying to think of anywhere his youngest Latino friend would hide. As he frantically searched, his eyes could see the swirly slide begin to shake as a frightened looking Carlos skidded to a stop at the bottom. Apparently, while trying to climb to the top, his foot slipped.

Carlos tried to shimmy back up the slide but his taller friend had reached up and caught hold of his foot before he could. "Let me go, Kendall!" Carlos screamed, pulling away with all his might.

"No! Come down here so we can talk!" Carlos held onto the creases in the swirly slide for dear life while Kendall dug the heels of his shoes into the floor. Suddenly, Carlos' shoe slipped from his foot and Kendall, who hadn't been expecting the change in force, fell backwards. That gave Carlos the opportunity to climb back up the slide.

Kendall tossed Carlos' shoe aside. "Carlos, just come down from there so we can talk or I'm coming up!"

" _I thought you wanted me to leave you alone!_ " Carlos said snidely.

Kendall was taken aback; it wasn't like Carlos to talk back like that. "I'm sorry, 'Litos! Please come down!"

When Carlos didn't answer, Kendall knelt down and prepared to climb up. Suddenly, the slide began to rumble again and Kendall stepped back, thinking it was Carlos coming back down. However, the rational part of his brain was not expecting to see a bowling ball pop out of the bottom! He quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the ball rolling over his toes. _Hockey pucks!_ How could he forget about the bowling ball?!

Thinking quickly, Kendall stepped to the side of the slide. "Carlos, I'm serious! I'm coming up there so we can talk!" Kendall kicked the side of the slide as hard as he could to imitate the sound of him charging up. After the second bowling ball rolled by, Kendall knew that it was safe to head up, being as there were only two bowling balls that Carlos kept stocked up in the balcony in case of emergencies.

Kendall let out a breath as he made it to the top of the slide. Carlos had his back to the slide, no doubt a pout on his face. Carlos flinched as his helmet was placed on his head and as Kendall came to sit beside him, he instantly curled away from his friend's touch. "Buddy..."

"No. Go 'way. I'm mad at you." Carlos grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Please, buddy. I'm sorry." Kendall said. He pried Carlos's hands from his arms and gently brought the boy to his chest. After embracing the boy into a protective hug, he nuzzled his chin atop the boy's helmeted head. "I'm sorry I pushed you. I didn't mean it. I..."

"Its okay, Kendall." Carlos said softly, resting his head against Kendall's chest. "I'm sorry I didn't leave you alone when you asked me to."

"I didn't want to be alone, anyway." Kendall answered automatically. "I was just being stubborn." After a while of holding his younger friend, Kendall felt a pang in his heart, which compelled him to ask. "Do you still want to come with me?"

Carlos beamed. "Of course I do! You're my best friend and I want to be there for you! Even if said best friend won't tell me _where_ we're actually going."

Kendall chuckled. "I told you; it's just a road trip to visit a relative!" Kendall smiled as he released the hug. "I'm going to bed; I'm going to be coming to get you at midnight so you'd better go get some shut eye."

Carlos nodded and was quick to follow Kendall. That night, Kendall decided it would be easiest if they had a sleep over; Carlos didn't object when Kendall crawled into bed with him and in a matter of minutes they were both sound asleep...

The night went along peaceful; each boy had been lulled to sleep shortly after Kendall and Carlos had gone to sleep. They dreamt their own individual dreams that had been yet to be disturbed. Besides for the occasional mumble or snore, no one made a sound and, aside from the hitting or punching that would occur from time to time in the midst of sleep, no one move a muscle. The room was once again filled with the same silence that had consumed Carlos' room earlier that day. Everyone was fast asleep.

All except for one...

The night seemed to drag on forever for Carlos. He rolled in onto his side and glared at the red, blinking numbers on the alarm clock. 11 o'clock. It had been nearly three hours since he'd woken up to go get a drink; unfortunately for him, he hadn't been able to fall back asleep after. Letting out a heavy sigh, he hugged his knees to his chest, closed his eyes and willed his body to let him fall back asleep. He tried to think of an event that had left him feeling happy, like their very first appearance on live TV. But try as he must all that came to mind were previous events; mainly his worry about his best friend. All of his happy thoughts were transformed into something Kendall related.

Becoming frustrated in himself, he threw his pillow over his face. He was trying his hardest not to growl, in fear of waking his older roommate.

Carlos rolled onto his side and he nearly jolted. His eyes cracked open and he examined the area beside his. The lump that he could normally lean on was gone. He threw back the covers of Kendall's side of the bed to confirm it was empty. There was no trace of him!

He tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach and paid no attention to it. He resisted the urge to go looking for him and decided that Kendall had just gone to get a drink of water. Carlos flopped carelessly onto his back, gingerly securing his pillow back behind his head.

Carlos' eyes fluttered open at the sound of footsteps erupting in his ears. They were small, yet noticeable; it almost sounded like someone was tip-toeing across the carpeted floor.

"Kendall?" He called out in the softest voice that he could muster. Carlos strained his eyes, trying hard to find something distinguishable in the dark. He sat up in his bed and used his elbows to prop himself up; he tried desperately to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "Is that you?" The figure in question froze. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Suddenly, the figure threw itself and dove at him; Carlos found himself being tackled back down onto his back and the creature wrestled its way onto his stomach.

Weight shifted onto his stomach as he found himself being straddled on. His breath refused to become dislodged from his throat. Something soft had pressed itself over his mouth, muffling his cries of protest. He could only assume it was a hand. His own hands and arms were stuck to his sides by what felt like knees and one of his shoulders was pinned down another hand; his eyes widened in fear and shock and he struggled to get free.

"Shhh... Carlitos. It. Is. Me." If it were even possible, Carlos' eyes bulged even more when he recognized the voice. Kendall picked up the flashlight that was sitting beside them and turned it on, shining it at his face so his younger friend could see. "Now chill. You're going to wake up James." Carlos frowned under Kendall's palm, muffling something inaudible. "Shh..."

Carlos rolled his eyes but nodded. Kendall pulled away, silently crawling off of his bed. He sat up, swiping the back of hand against his lips. "Why do you always do that? I thought you were some crazy axe murderer coming to kill us all in our sleep! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Don't be so dramatic!"

"You didn't _have_ to do that, you know. You could have just said 'it's me, Kendall',"

"But you always scream!"

"No I don't!"

"Yeah you do. Plus, I couldn't tell if you were talking in your sleep again, and you do that weird, snoring thing whenever I wake you up." When Carlos shot him a confused look, Kendall lolled his head back and mimicked Carlos' snore, snoring as loud as he could without waking James from his slumber. Kendall giggled when Carlos socked him in the arm. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He laughed, trying to protect himself from Carlos' tired, yet powerful blows.

"Why are you waking me up now, anyway? I thought you said we were leaving _at midnight_."

"I wanted to get an early start!" Kendall said eagerly. "Now look, all of our stuff is down stairs already. So let's go!" Carlos let out another groan, holding his hands up as if he were a small child. Kendall sighed. "You are so lazy!" He griped, but carefully scooped the young boy into his arms.

Once he'd gotten Carlos into the passenger seat of the car and buckled his seatbelt, he quickly slipped into the front seat.

"Are you _sure_ Mama Knight is okay with us taking her car?"

Kendall sputtered his lips. "Oh, _yeah!_ Buddy, don't even worry about it; I asked her this morning if we could borrow it!"

"Then why are we sneaking?"

 _Hockey pucks! Nothing gets past Carlos! "_ Because we were _supposed_ to wait until morning!"

Carlos slammed his hands against the arms rests of the car. _"_ Kendall!"

"Relax! Everything's going to be fine!" Kendall soothed, coaxing Carlos back against his seat.

The boy did so, though he muttered a soft " _when your mom goes ballistic on us for stealing her car, I don't want to hear any complaints_." under his breath. That was the end of that.

After driving for what seemed like forever to Carlos, he fell asleep. The last thing he remembered was driving passed the Hollywood sign before he rested his head against the strap of his seat belt and closed his eyes.

As Kendall continued their journey across the country, he could feel himself becoming lost in his own little world. The world that consisted of his mother, his sister, his loving father and him. They were all so happy. It was how it was supposed to be...

 _His favorite family outing was a simple stroll through the park. He and his sister, of course, never really liked the walking part of it all._

 _It's just that at the end of their walk, there was a big playground in the middle for the kids to play on. His favorite part was the way his father would push him on the swings, even though they were quite capable of pumping his legs._

 _He remembered hearing the sounds of his sister giggling manically as they were pushed higher and higher and higher. They thought that they would touch the sky, yet they still beckoned him to push harder. He could feel the sun on his cheeks as well as the wind blowing through his hair and shirt. He could hear the sounds of summer: birds tweeting, bees buzzing, a car horn blaring, an ice cream truck's music..._

 _Wait_... He didn't remember any car horns in the...

Kendall opened his eyes and a light temporarily blocked his line of view. When they came into view, he could see that a semi-truck was heading straight for them! _He was in the wrong lane!_ Kendall let out a scream and quickly swerved into the appropriate lane just in the nick of time.

The sudden jerk had made Carlos' head smack against the window. " _Ow_!" He exclaimed, sitting up so he could rub the throbbing spot on his head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kendall panted, looking frantically around. He reached a hand over to rub Carlos' shoulder because he couldn't reach his head. "Buddy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry! I was just going to tell you that... _Uhh..._ We're stopping at a hotel for a while." Kendall fibbed.

"And what's wrong with, ' _Wake up, Carlos. We're stopping at a hotel,_ '?"

"Oh, you know me! Always kidding around!" He said, playfully shoving Carlos' shoulder.

"Yeah, sure Kendall." Carlos grumbled, falling back to sleep.

Kendall silently cheered, relishing in how easily Carlos was swayed when he was tired.

After driving for a while more, they pulled up to a small hotel in the middle of Wyoming. Carlos had fallen asleep without interruptions and, unfortunately for Kendall, wasn't about to be woken up anytime soon. Kendall shook his shoulder, but to no avail. "'What's wrong with _Wake up Carlos?_ ' He says." Kendall shook his head and carefully draped Carlos over his shoulder.

He'd gotten a few strange looks from the hotel manager, the concierge, and the evening staff after he'd checked into the hotel. He thought about how bad it looked that Carlos now had a big, throbbing bruise on the side of his head; he was afraid that these people thought _he_ had done that to him to knock him out!

As he carried Carlos to the elevator, he could feel his arm beginning to tire under his younger friend's weight. While waiting for the elevator to come back to the lobby, a tall man approached him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. Kendall quickly distinguished the man as a bellhop, "Would you like some help with your..." He paused; his face scrunching up in confusion. " _Luggage_ , sir?"

Kendall chuckled. "Um... No thank you. I think I'm good; I do this all the time."

The man seemed oblivious to Kendall's humor and he smiled again. "As you wish. Enjoy your stay, sir." He muttered and stalked away.

Kendall shrugged, stepping into the small elevator. As the doors slid shut, he couldn't help but chuckle at them calling him 'sir'.

By the time they got to their room, Kendall had shifted and held Carlos in his arms. After clicking on the small light next to their dresser, he placed Carlos into one of the beds.

He was hoping Carlos would stay asleep as he pulled the blankets up to his chin, but as he moved to lie down in the other bed, Carlos began to stir.

"Kendall?"

"Go back to sleep, bud."

"But I can't go to sleep without my bedtime story." Carlos whined.

Kendall was about to argue, but from the sound of his voice, he could easily tell that Carlos was only half awake. He sat down on the mattress beside Carlos as he wracked his brain for the story his mother used to tell him when he was little. " _Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a poor peasant boy named Jack. Jack lived with mother, his father and baby sister. Jack was lonely; he was too shy to make friends and the kids often made fun of him because of how poor he was. Jack's father hated to see his son so upset, so every day after school, he and his son would go out for father-son field trips. They would go to Derby races, go to royal balls and have make-believe sword fights together. Even though they couldn't do the same things as all the other kids, Jack felt better when he remembered that all the gold in the world couldn't buy him the happiness that his father had provided for him. Then, Jack got sick._ Really _sick. So sick that he needed an operation to save his life. He needed a liver and a kidney transplant; his father was the perfect fit. The only problem was they were poor peasants; they didn't have enough money to pay for their son's operation and keep their family alive. They talked to every doctor they could find in the kingdom and all of them declined because of the lack of money. Finally, one doctor agreed to do the operation if they could pay him back one way or another. Jack's father said that he would have been the doctor's apprentice for ten years to pay off the money. The doctor agreed and summoned the best group of doctors he could find to operate. The End._ "

By the end of the story, tears brimmed his eyes and he sniffled and blinked trying to get them to go away.

"Oh, Kendall, that's a sad story." Carlos muttered tiredly.

Kendall let out a small breath as he rubbed Carlos's back. "Yes it is, buddy." Kendall cooed. _And that wasn't even the whole thing..._

As Kendall pulled the covers back up to Carlos's neck, his eyes gently fluttered shut. Carlos turned onto his side, but craned his neck to look at Kendall. "That was a terrible ending." He yawned once and Kendall could see that his eyelashes were beginning to droop. "What happens next? Is that the story of your dad?"

Kendall winced and could feel yet another tear rolling down his face. "Go to sleep, Carlos." He whispered. Carlos obliged, turning over and snuggling closer to his pillow.

Kendall waited for Carlos' breathing to even out and eventually turn to his soft snoring to crawl into his own bed. While replaying the story his mother had told, he drifted off to sleep as well.

Kendall hadn't gotten much sleep; the ending of the story had plagued him with nightmares so he spent the majority of the night tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling. And when he finally did go to sleep, he was woken up by his phone buzzing manically. When he opened it he was bombarded by text messages-a few from his friends but mainly from his mother. Carlos' phone went off a few times, too, but he was too far gone to even know what his name was, let alone know that his phone was going on.

The moment they returned home, he and Carlos were going to be grounded until they died. He felt badly; Carlos was mainly an innocent bystander in all of this. He was the one who wanted to sneak out and now Carlos was going to be punished for his lapse in judgment. He looked over to Carlos as he slept soundly in his hotel bed.

He didn't want to say anything to Carlos about that; he didn't want to upset his little Latino buddy. This was definitely a "coming home" story...

The rest of the morning seemed like a bit of a blur to Carlos. From the moment he'd woken up, he could see that Kendall was a lot more chipper than what he normally was in the morning.

He awoke to what he perceived to be an earthquake shaking the entire room, but when he opened his eyes, he realized it was only Kendall shaking him. "Rise and shine! Come on, buddy, we've got to get going!"

Carlos sat up once Kendall stopped shaking him. "But Kendall," he paused to yawn and stretch out his arms and back. "What about-?" He was cut off when Kendall placed a doughnut in between his teeth.

"No time for that, we've got to hurry!" Carlos' eyes never left Kendall as he bounced around the room. Suddenly, his dirty shirt was being ripped off and his hoodie was being plopped over his head. "Come on, get changed and let's go!" Kendall urged as he pulled Carlos out of the bed, thrust his clean clothes into his hands and shoved him into the hotel bathroom. No sooner had the door opened and he stepped out wearing his new attire was the moment that Kendall pounced. Kendall had practically dragged Carlos back to the car and threw him in the passenger seat and slammed the door- but not without dropping a small box of doughnuts into his lap.

After checking out of the hotel and driving through the day, Carlos was still trying to consume the small amount of doughnuts. Carlos popped the last of another one into his mouth. "These are really good! Don't you want any?" He asked, holding them out for Kendall to take.

"No thanks buddy." He smiled, but kept his eyes on the road. "I'm not hungry."

Carlos withdrew with a disheartening look on his face. He gently placed to box beside them. "Why did you choose me to go on this trip with you? Why did you tell me about this? Why wouldn't you choose Logan?"

"That's an easy one; because Logan would never have let me go."

Carlos shook his head. "You never answered my question, Kendall."

Kendall arched an eyebrow. "Question? I just answered your question a second ago!"

"Not that! I meant 'Was that the story of your dad?' "

"Mmhmm."

"And is that why we're going to Minnesota?"

"Yup."

They sat in silence for a while before Carlos spoke again. "Tell me about your dad, Kendall."

Kendall sighed; he knew that Carlos' heart was in the right place, he just hadn't spoken of his father in a long time. "Los, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Please, Kendall. It might make you feel better."

"Oh, all right." Kendall said, allowing a small smile to appear on his face. "My dad's a lot like yours; he's really nice and he loves to take me out for ice cream and take me to games." Carlos beamed; that did sound a lot like his Papi. "He told me not to be nervous on my first day of school and that I didn't have to be afraid to make friends. He's the one that told me that anything was possible... And... A-And, uh..."

Kendall let out a choked sob and Carlos winced. "I'm sorry, Kendall. Please don't cry!" He knew that the subject of his father was a sensitive one; he just didn't know it was _this_ sensitive. _What had happened between him and his father?_

"It's all right, buddy." Kendall let go of the wheel to wipe away the tears rolling down his cheeks, but seemed to visibly calm down.

Carlos nodded sympathetically. "Why don't we talk about something else?"

"Like what?"

Carlos scratched his chin. Then his face lit up and a smile spread across his lips. "Remember that one time when we thought there was a ghost at Palmwoods?"

Kendall smirked. "No, _I_ never thought there was a ghost! It was you and Logan who were running around the halls screaming!"

Carlos laughed. "Hey! That was _all_ of us!"

Kendall laughed at this as well. "Oh yeah!" He giggled.

The next twelve hours went by in a flash. They spent the remainder of the trip discussing stories of their past. Then, when they ran out of stories to tell, they sang along to the radio. Carlos hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep until he felt the car make a sudden turn. He opened his eyes and noticed that the roads, which were once paved with gold, were now paved with snow and ice. When he looked a little closer, the streets and signs that he'd left for a year were all becoming bold. _They were home._

Carlos recalled visiting Kendall's relatives' house as a young boy, which was where he assumed Kendall's father lived. So he was a bit troubled when Kendall turned the car to drive in a completely different direction.

After a nerve wracking fifteen minutes of driving in a familiar yet unfamiliar route and wondering where exactly they were going, Carlos was shocked when they came to a stop outside of a memorial park.

When Kendall shut off the car, Carlos looked around. "Kendall, I thought you said we were going to see your _dad_."

"I did." Kendall muttered.

"Then why are we at the cemetery?" Kendall turned to give Carlos the saddest, most devastatingly sorrowful look known to man, and it all clicked inside Carlos' head. " _Oh_..."

Kendall moved and swiftly unbuckled his seatbelt. "Stay here." He ordered Carlos and the shorter boy went to remove his as well.

Carlos' jaw dropped. "But-?"

"Stay here!" He reiterated more assertively. "I'll be right back."

When Carlos made no move to follow, Kendall pushed his door open and began to trudge the snow.

As the boy marched the seeming endless rows of grave stones, he finally found the one he was looking for.

Kendall saw a man sitting in a lawn chair beside the graveyard, his eyes widened. The man had short blonde hair that almost resembled his own, and Kendall could only imagine it was falling in face behind the newspaper- just like it always did. His father looked up from his newspaper and green eyes met his hazel ones. "Hey buddy!"

"Dad!" Kendall cheered, racing through the snow to get to the figure across the way.

He stood to give Kendall a hug. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Neither have you, Dad!"

"So what's new with you, kiddo?"

"Well, remember how I told you that I was going to LA to help make James a star?" He paused to give his father the chance to nod. "Well, now we're a band in LA."

"Really?"

"Yup! It's all in the letter. I wish you could see it."

"Well, if that was an option, I'd do it!" Kendall's dad joked, tugging at the shackle around his ankle. "Anything's better than sitting here all day!"

"Why didn't you come with me, Dad? It would have been nice to have you with me. And Mom and Katie miss you a lot!"

"I know, buddy. But the Angels said I can't go anywhere until you're ready to let me go."

"Oh, Dad." Kendall whispered, hugging his father again. "I love you. I really, really miss you."

Kendall broke down in a sobs and his father held him as he collapsed in the snow. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck as his cries echoed off of every object in the empty cemetery.

Carlos sat up upon hearing the sound of the most heart wrenching wail he'd ever heard in his life.

Even though Kendall told him to stay put, instinct told him that his best bud needed him. Carlos launched himself from the car and followed the sounds of Kendall's voice. He silently cursed the gentle flurry that had started after Kendall left the car; if it wasn't for it, he would have been able to follow Kendall's footprints and would have probably found him already...

Finally, Carlos found Kendall on the ground, crying quietly and hugging a grave stone. He had never seen Kendall look so upset before. In fact, he had rarely seen the teenaged, blonde boy shed a tear; except for on those few occasions when he'd accidentally gotten hit in the face, which inevitably forced a few drops from his eyes.

Kendall could hear footsteps approaching him in the snow. As they came closer, he could feel the warmth of his father's chest disappear out from under him and he fell against the gravestone. Kendall looked up in time to see him slowly began to return to hover above the ground. "Dad?" He asked, but the man could only offer a small, sad smile. Higher and higher he levitated off the ground. "I thought you said you couldn't leave until I was ready!" He shouted after his father's spirit.

"You are, son. You don't know it yet, but you're ready." He had responded, but Kendall could hear that his voice was becoming faint and almost haunting.

"Dad! No! I'm not ready! Please don't leave me!" He pleaded, but his father didn't stop. Kendall could only reach his hand as he watched his father return to his home up in Heaven.

Kendall could feel his arms being pried off of the gravestone and his body being pulled against another. He instantly began to struggle. "No! Stop! Let me go!"

"Kendall, it's me!"

Kendall stopped writhing in the arms so he could look up at their owner. "C-Carlos!" He sniveled and hiccupped before continuing. "I-I thought I t-t-told you to-?"

"I know, but I told you I wanted to be there for you! Now let it out." Carlos instructed, pulling Kendall closer. Kendall tried to hold it in at first, but after a few short seconds, his body began to quake and his head fell against his chest and he did what he was told.

As children, adults were always advising them never to cry outside; they always said that their tears would freeze to their faces. Carlos had never seen it happen before, so he always thought that it was just a myth adults told kids to scare them. However, now as Kendall sobbed into his chest and he could see that tears were starting to freeze to his cheeks, Carlos was quickly beginning to realize that she knew what she was talking about.

"It's all my fault!" Kendall cried." I killed him! He died because of me! He died giving me his kidney! So I killed him!"

"No, you didn't!" He said over Kendall's weeping. "Listen to me." He cooed, rubbing Kendall's back and coaxing the taller boy to calm down. "It's _not_ your fault you got sick. It's _not_ your fault you got sick. It's _not_ your fault there was a complication. It's _not_ your fault your dad died." Carlos explained so softly and calmly that it almost scared himself. Most of the time, it was Kendall, James or Logan who was doing the consoling, so it felt having it be the other way around. "You've been carrying this guilt around with you for years now, so by now it's easy to blame yourself. But I'm going to say this and I want you to hear me. It is _not,_ nor has it _ever_ been, your fault."

Kendall nodded, but the tears continued to flow. "I miss him, Carlos." Kendall admitted, snuggling closer to Carlos. "I miss him so much!"

"I know, buddy. I know you do. But you know what?" Kendall sniffled in response. "He's still with you. And even though you can't see him, he's always going to be here with you. Do you want to hear how the story was supposed to end?"

Kendall gulped. "What?"

"The story of Jack- _you know_ \- the one you told me in the hotel? Do you want to hear how it was _supposed_ to end?" Kendall hesitantly nodded against Carlos' chest. " _Even though the surgery was fairly easy to perform, there was a complication... Unfortunately, Jack's father didn't make it... Jack was very sad to have lost his father, and missed him very much, but Jack was never sad or lonely again, because no matter what he would always remember him."_

Kendall couldn't help but smile, and he wiped a hand across his face. "Thanks Carlos!" He wiped the last of the tears from his eyes and blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to see me like this." He sniffled once more.

"Its okay, Kendall. I don't judge, especially my friends." Carlos assured, giving Kendall a friendly pat on the back.

Carlos helped Kendall get back to his feet, and then grabbed his arm when the taller boy began to sway. Slowly and cautiously he began to walk Kendall back to the car. He cleared his throat. "Well, it's a long ride back."

"I'll be right by your side." Carlos encouraged.

"Thanks buddy!" Kendall smiled, gently bumping shoulders with his shorter friend.

"And Kendall?" Carlos said, stopping Kendall before he could get in the car.

"Yeah?"

"Your dad would have been proud of you."

"Thank you Carlos." He said sincerely, embracing Carlos in another hug.

As they drove back home on that cold winter night, Kendall continued to tell tales about adventures he'd had with his dad. At the time, Kendall realized that even though his dad wasn't physically with him, he would always be there for him. Plus, with friends and family like his by his side, Kendall knew that he would be strong enough to get through even the worst days. And that was all he needed.

With time, they would help him to finally let his father go...

The End.

 **Thank you guys so much for reading! I really hope you guys enjoyed that even though it was really, _really_ long!**

 **In the show, I always wondered what had happened to Kendall's dad. They talked briefly about James' parents' divorce, you got to see what both Carlos' parents, but you didn't get to see Logan's or Kendall's. I had to give myself some closure for at least one of them...**

 **Who knows, maybe Logan's story will be next... *devilish smirk***

 **What did you guys think? Did you hate it? Like it? Love it! Let me know; drop a review in the review box! Or PM me, that works for me, too!**

 **Stay tuned, there are more stories coming at you soon!**

 **Well, that's all for now; until next time, remember:**

 **Peace, Love and Happiness!**

 **~BrittSmiles4BTR**


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